Brooks and Beatty Honored as “Columbus Black Legends”

Otto Beatty and Brian Brooks

E.E. Ward Moving & Storage co-owners Brian Brooks and Otto Beatty III were recently honored at the Columbus’ Black Leaders and Legends Awards.  E.E. Ward Moving & Storage Co. was established in 1881 and is considered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to be the oldest minority-owned company in the United States.  Brooks and Beatty purchased the company from the Ward family in 2001, and in the course of their 12-year ownership, have transformed the company from a local mover to a nationally networked agent for North American Van Lines.  The company was also recognized this year by North American Van Lines with a first place award for its consumer growth.

Sunny Martin, Managing Partner with GrapeVineColumbus.com, hosted the event to commemorate the year 2013, a historical milestone in the African-American community – the 150th anniversity of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The African-American community is the largest minority population in Columbus, Ohio where more than 200,000 African-Americans call central Ohio home.  Martin said, “We are proud to celebrate this iconic and historical occasion by affirming that which is positive in our communhity, and saluting the many outstanding contributions of those African-American men, women, and youth in our community.”